The steady shift of production outside Japan, due to the strong yen, was reflected in first half data released by automakers.
Combined overseas output by the eight passenger car makers climbed about 27.9% year on year in the first half of 2012 to about 7.95m units, the Nikkei reported. Six set first-half overseas output records.
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Mazda was the only one among the eight that did not log output growth overseas, as it was weighed down by a big drop in China.
Toyota’s foreign output rose 43.3% to about 2.76m cars, topping the previous first-half record, set in 2008 before the Lehman Brothers collapse, and the largest figure for any half-year period.
The jump was driven by robust production in the U.S., which surged about 70% thanks in part to a doubling of output of the Camry sedan at its Kentucky plant.
Nissan Motor turned out about 1.97m cars overseas in the January-June period, up 16.5% and the third straight first-half record.
Nissan boosted Chinese production of its Tiida compact, made possible by the opening of its second plant in Guangzhou. The company also ramped up output in other emerging countries including Mexico, India and Thailand.
About 1.58m cars rolled off Honda’s overseas assembly lines in the first half, up 52.0% and surpassing the previous first half record, set in 2007.
Production in the US surged about 75%, as the company doubled the number of workers at its Indiana plant to about 2,000 last autumn and jacked up output of its Civic sedan. More is to come as it gears up to produce the Civic Hybrid in the country and double exports.
Suzuki, Daihatsu and Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru) also saw overseas passenger-car output hit first-half highs for the third consecutive year.
On the domestic front, combined output at the eight firms surged 53% to about 4.99m vehicles.
The jump reflects production cuts in the same period a year earlier, when the automakers were forced to temporarily close some factories in the wake of the Japanese earthquake.
With the exception of Mitsubishi Motors, all the carmakers turned out more cars in Japan in the first half.
Toyota’s output expanded 76.7% to about 1.87m vehicles, while Honda’s surged 120.4% to about 587,000 cars.
The growth in domestic output is likely to stall in the not-so-distant future, as automakers are expected to shift more production abroad, the Nikkei noted.
